


Room A-345

by Rikagirl



Category: Tennis RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 14:30:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13503510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikagirl/pseuds/Rikagirl
Summary: Nick had never seen the appeal of blue eyes before. They just weren’t that interesting. But for the first time, he found himself unable to look away from this stranger’s eyes.





	Room A-345

Dropping a class after only having attended five minutes of the first lecture had to be a new record for him, Nick thought as he wandered aimlessly through the sports complex. He wondered, for what felt like the millionth time that week, why he hadn’t dropped out definitely yet. He hated sitting through three-hour-long lectures, listening to boring professors talk about things that made no sense and that didn’t interest him in the slightest. He had survived his first year, but just barely. He had threatened to drop out at least five times, and had only stayed because everyone had assured him the first year was always like that, that he’d start enjoying himself more once he had passed all the introductory classes. 

And yet, here he was, in his second year, and he still felt like shit. He checked his watch; he still had another hour to go before his next class. He’d probably skip that one too, he thought with a shrug. Maybe he could just go home. Or maybe to the basketball court. Anywhere was fine, as long as it wasn’t on the university campus.

“Hey!” a voice next to him startled him and brought him back to reality. “Excuse me, do you know where I could find room A-345?”

The voice belonged to a tall blond man with glasses who was squinting at his phone, looking lost. He was clearly a first-year, and Nick really wasn’t in the mood to act as a tour guide. He opened his mouth to tell him to figure it out, when the blond lifted his eyes off the screen and looked at him, leaving him speechless.

Nick had never seen the appeal of blue eyes before. They just weren’t that interesting. But for the first time, he found himself unable to look away from this stranger’s eyes. Maybe it was the way he looked at him, with a mix of confusion and desperation. He looked like a little lost kid despite his height—he was taller than Nick, and that was saying a lot—and Nick found himself, much to his horror, feeling drawn to him. And when he licked his lips unconsciously, looking at him pleadingly, Nick knew he would help the first-year with anything he wanted.

*

The classroom ended up being at the other end of campus. When he found out, the new student, Alexander (or Sascha, as he said he preferred being called), excused himself profusely for bothering Nick. But Nick barely heard him. It seemed like a lucky coincidence to him, that he’d be able to spend more time with Sascha, who was starting to look like the only good thing that would happen to him that day. So he waved off the apologies and offered to walk him to the building. 

Sascha turned out to be more talkative than Nick had expected. But that was good, in a way. It meant Nick didn’t have to worry about what to say. He found out that Sascha was originally from Hamburg, that he had decided to go study in Australia to improve his English (English that sounded more than fine, in Nick’s opinion), that he loved sports but hated cooking, and that he had just moved in and barely knew anyone in the city. Nick found himself beginning to smile, as he listened to the younger man’s ramblings. Could it be that he was starting to enjoy himself at that forsaken university?

“Hmm... Nick?” the sudden change in Sascha’s tone made him look up.

“Something up?”

“No... well, I mean, it’s just... I think this is a dead end.”

He was right. The path ended a few meters ahead, and there was nowhere to go. They’d have to turn back. Nick felt his face heat up with embarrassment. Despite having studied there for a year already, he had never bothered to visit the campus outside of the building where he had class and the sports complex. He had no idea where they were. 

“Are we lost?”

“No!” he replied, perhaps a little too quickly. “I must have gotten distracted and took a wrong turn. I know exactly where we are.”

Sascha pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and showed it to Nick. A map. For a moment, he was tempted to take it to figure out where they were. But his pride prevented him from accepting it. Instead he waved it off and began walking down the path they had just been walking on. Sascha hurried behind him, not wanting to be left behind.

Nick was looking around for some kind of sign that would point him in the right direction. But none of the buildings looked familiar. They reached a street with a name he couldn’t recognize. He was tempted to walk back to the sports complex to try to start over again, but he wasn’t even sure he remembered how they had gotten there. He could feel Sascha looking at him, and hated the idea that he was making a fool of himself in front of the only decent person he knew. Thankfully, the blond didn’t say anything, even though it was obvious they would need help to go anywhere.

“What’s this street called?” Sascha finally asked after a few minutes of silence. Nick saw that he had taken the map out again. Fine. They’d have to use it. He told him, and waited for him to find it. 

Nick watched him, taking advantage of the fact that the younger man was too focused on reading the map to pay attention to him. His eyebrows were furrowed together in concentration and he was biting his bottom lip lightly. Nick wondered how he’d react if he pulled him in for a kiss. He imagined his eyes widening in surprise at first, before closing as he melted into his embrace and returned the kiss, while Nick ran his hands through his blond locks. Maybe he’d even...

At that exact moment, Sascha looked up and caught him staring. Nick got the distinct feeling that Sascha could read his mind, and wished he could vanish on the spot. He didn’t know where that thought had come from, but it couldn’t have come at a worse moment. He forced himself to look away and store the thought for later (he’d have plenty of time to think about kissing him during his afternoon class), hoping he wasn’t looking too obviously uncomfortable.

“Hey, man, are you alright? You look a little sick.” 

Instinctively, he reached out to him, only to have Nick jump back defensively.

“What? No! I’m fine. Did you find out where we are already?” 

Sascha smiled. “Yeah! We’re only two blocks away! I think we took a wrong turn at some point.”

“Great. Lead the way then.” 

Sascha simply nodded and started walking. He had been surprised—and a little flattered, he wasn’t going to lie—to catch the other man staring at him while he read the map, but he wasn’t too sure what to make of his sudden harshness. He thought he looked embarrassed to have been caught, but Sascha was sure he was just imagining things. In all likelihood, Nick had simply been watching him because he was the only other person there. What was he going to do, stare at the trees? But as they walked the last two blocks in silence, he couldn’t help but steal glances at the dark-haired man from time to time. He wondered if he was single. But there was no way to ask him without sounding weird. And anyways, he reasoned, there was no way someone as attractive as him wasn’t dating someone. Just because he didn’t know anyone in that city didn’t mean it was the case for Nick. In fact, that was probably his hometown, he probably knew half of the people in the university. He sighed. It’d be nice to be able to see him again, at least.

When they finally reached the right building, Sascha turned to thank Nick for his help. If it could be called help, really. But before he could walk into his class, Nick grabbed his wrist and thrust a small piece of paper in his empty hand. Sascha looked at it. It was a phone number, with a “call me” scribbled hastily next to it. He looked at the Australian in surprise, unable to stop himself from smiling. The other man looked away, trying to appear unbothered and uninterested. As if this was something completely normal.

“In case you need help finding your class again.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea I got and couldn’t get rid of lol  
> I hope you enjoyed it!!


End file.
